Culture and Politics Leiden University

Overview

The specialisation Culture and Politics encourages critical perspectives on complexities of culture as an inextricable part of global politics. The Culture and Politics specialisation considers the cultural dynamics of power, dominance, and resistance. As part of the specialisation you will study the relationship between political concepts and a large variety of cultural forms. The specialisation also examines the transnational production, distribution, and consumption of culture, problematising “national” cultural and “soft power” policies. You will learn methods drawn from fields like linguistics, media and cultural studies which will be useful for analysing the political significance of material and phenomena both conventional and unconventional to the study of international relations.

With an MA in International Relations from Leiden University you are eligible to apply to the second year of the prestigious MA in International Affairs at the School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University, Bologna, Italy. Admitted candidates receive a full year’s credit towards this two-year MA. The MA in International Affairs is a research-focused programme where students have the flexibility to personalise their curriculum and focus on those contemporary issues in international affairs that are of the greatest importance and aligned with their career interests.

What you will learn

Future employers are interested not only in the subject-related knowledge that you acquired during your study programme, but also in the ‘transferable skills’. These include cognitive skills, such as critical thinking, reasoning and argumentation and innovation; intrapersonal skills, such as flexibility, initiative, appreciating diversity and metacognition; and interpersonal skills, such as communication, accountability and conflict resolution. In short, they are skills that all professionals need in order to perform well.
It is therefore important that during your study programme you not only acquire as much knowledge as possible about your subject, but also are aware of the skills you have gained and the further skills you still want to learn. The skills you may encounter in the various courses are:

• Collaboration
• Persuasion
• Research
• Self-directed learning
• Creative thinking

Career prospects

The MA in International Relations programme offers outstanding preparation for students seeking a profession that requires comprehensive knowledge of world affairs and strong analytical and critical-thinking skills.

Examples of the diverse roles of our graduates include:

• Policy advisor, at a ministry of foreign affairs
• Communications manager and project assistant at an NGO promoting reconciliation and peace
• Consular spokesperson at a ministry of foreign affairs
• Consultant at an NGO
• Project manager at a company specialising in geo-services, international development and project management
• PhD candidate and research assistant
• Communications officer at an international student federation
• Research analyst at a consultancy firm
• Product manager at a multinational company
• University relations manager at an education intermediary
• Senior immigration expert at a multinational accountancy and consultancy firm

Accreditation

Accredited by NVAO, the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders.